New York, NY, and Washington, DC—The Association of University Presses (AUPresses) was approved as an Associate member of the International Publishers Association (IPA) at the IPA General Assembly in Frankfurt, Germany, on October 11.
IPA recently reconfigured membership categories and created the Associate-level membership for international specialized publishers associations such as AUPresses. The Association of University Presses has long observed and supported work of IPA and is proud to formally join the membership.
IPA membership complements the core values of AUPresses: integrity, diversity, stewardship, and intellectual freedom. Like AUPresses, IPA has stringent membership eligibility criteria and application processes. Similarly, the broad international memberships of both organizations encompass broad views, and diverse political and cultural landscapes, on a large number of policy issues which each must balance.
University presses serve as stewards of the intellectual property of their institutions and authors, as well as stewards of the scholarly record, and of readers’ trust. The international work of the IPA on global copyright concerns, such as the work over many years to bring the WIPO Marrakesh Treaty to Facilitate Access to Published Works for Persons Who Are Blind, Visually Impaired or Otherwise Print Disabled into force, is integral to that stewardship.
University presses worldwide are committed to intellectual freedom, as the very work such presses publish grows from the freedom of students and scholars to inquire and read widely. AUPresses Executive Director Peter Berkery, in introducing the organization’s application to the IPA General Assembly, stated: “As IPA members, we hope to add our voice to efforts to combat suppression of the freedom to publish. I believe we can contribute a powerful and unique voice to IPA’s activities.”
To learn more about the work and members of IPA: https://internationalpublishers.org
About the Association of University Presses
AUPresses is an organization of 161 international nonprofit scholarly publishers. Since 1937, the Association of University Presses advances the essential role of a global community of publishers whose mission is to ensure academic excellence and cultivate knowledge. The Association holds intellectual freedom, integrity, stewardship, and equity and inclusion as core values. AUPresses members are active across many scholarly disciplines, including the humanities, arts, and sciences, publish significant regional and literary work, and are innovators in the world of digital publishing.